willyboy

I think most of the neighborhoods mentioned sort-of resemble Wicker Park in makeup and diversity (mixed types of housing stock (new and old) and population, with great neighborhood establishments) especially Tremont and Ohio City. I think Lakewood and Cleveland Heights (maybe Cedar Lee and Cedar Fairmount areas) as well as Shaker Square area would also definitely be very good bets (not sure about for commute though). The Kamms Corner area of West Park is a nice neighborhood of Cleveland (with nice housing and some good restaurants and close to the wonderful metro parks) that may be better as far as commute to Medina (rt 237).

The wind turbine manufacturing plant!

Why does this even have to be on the lake? Its seems there would be hundreds of location you could put it.

Possibly, but I seriously doubt it. With the expection that "world class signage" consists of vinyl banners, I cant imagine that they would go through the expense of custom made, neon lettering for something temporary, when they could have put up a vinyl banner with some flood lights. I love this development, but they aren't exactly using alot of expensive materials in building it (and maybe justifiably so/cost cutting and affordability) So I kind of doubt they would spend that much on something temporary.

"Steelyard was designed to give the central city a suburban-type shopping option because that's what Campbell thought everyone wanted, same reason she OK'd all that suburban housing by the Clinic." 327, I think it was during the Mike White administration when most of the hideous suburban housing pop-ed up near the clinic in an effort to re-populate some of the empty land around there (lots were sold for $1). So they put suburban houses on 3 city lots to try to lure "suburbanites" back to the city. I appreciate your somewhat naive optimism, and do keep us posted of your endeavor. Pitsburgh is also a good city to look at as far as prevalence of department stores downtown. I think some may have closed since I was last there, but still it was impressive how many were still downtown (one thread a while back had talked about why that was). Also, if you ever have the opportunity at Cleveland State, take a Ned Hill, Urban Economics class at the Levin college. He is a brilliant man, and will give you a great understanding of the dynamics of the subject. He will spend time answering your questions (I wish he would run for mayor btw).

ESPN says it isnt happening...

That was at 1:31.

Another somewhat smarmy article about the MM/CC in Scene. Is it another PD take on the meeting last week? http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/94/youre-not-in-camelot-anymore-mr-kennedy You're Not In Camelot Anymore, Mr. Kennedy Medical Mart Purveyor Steers Clear Of Cleveland's Slow-in-coming Due Diligence By Dan Harkins And Anastasia Pantsios Like so many other big decisions in Cleveland, something major happened behind closed doors. For months on end, the general consensus was trending toward putting the proposed convention center/medical mart complex on Forest City Enterprises' cramped plot behind Tower City. A study from the Greater Cleveland Partnership, housed conveniently at Tower City, came out in August with the site at the top of the heap, claiming it would be too costly to remedy foundation problems at the existing convention center site. But on January 22, the county commissioners became emboldened by a new study from Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., and suddenly Tower City was out. Plan B on Mall B, the site of the current convention center, was a go. They claim the site change, with a special new foundation as well, would cost around $50 million less. The sudden about-face creased many brows. On Thursday, February 12, Cleveland City Council held a hearing to put many of those questions to MMPI president Chris Kennedy, who claimed he was "agnostic" about site selection. Kennedy also made it clear that his company was in charge here, damn it. "We'd be the manager of this facility, and as manager of this facility, we'd operate it, we'd take the risks and we'd take the rewards," Kennedy told council members. What risks? An early memorandum of understanding shows MMPI receiving between $5 million and $8 million a year to operate the facility, even though the deal between MMPI and the county gives MMPI ownership - an arrangement that conveniently allows the county to avoid competitive bidding. The Mall B site is largely owned by the city, which undoubtedly will be called upon to unload it cheaply for the greater good. The company, through the county, also plans to ask for property taxes to be waived on the $425 million development - a $2 million-a-year present. And don't forget: Taxpayers are footing the entire bill, as well as interest on the bonds that is expected to make the project cost nearly a billion dollars when all is said and done. MMPI's cost: maybe $20 million. Some risk. Kennedy was evasive when confronted with specific questions from council members, which were limited to less than a third of the three-hour hearing. Nearly two hours were consumed by a self-aggrandizing, 300-slide PowerPoint presentation, much of which merely restated the company's prominence in the field. The second half dealt with the chronology of events and the various engineering permutations (appropriately dubbed "schemes") that brought the company to its current Mall B selection. Kennedy predicted the creation of about 5,000 jobs, with an estimated 50 trade shows (10 percent of the market share) and 100 new conferences (6 percent), generating close to a billion dollars in new economic activity(!). Council President Martin Sweeney openly gushed about the prospects Kennedy presented. Then he actually tried to get details about land-acquisition costs. Kennedy, who'd begun his spiel with the assertion that he's "more than open to any insight or suggestion you might have," soon motioned to the news cameras in the room and added, "Whether we want negotiations on television is something else." Sweeney, effectively scolded, called upon his loyal majority on council. Most of the questions were softballs, but some had bite, appearing to catch Kennedy off-guard, evasive and more than a tad dickish. When Ward 4 Councilman Ken Johnson, chairman of the parks committee, pushed Kennedy on where he got a $17 million figure for land acquisition at the current Mall B site, Kennedy ultimately became flustered: "What I'm saying, for the fourth time, is that we went with the Greater Cleveland Partnership input. Please do not attribute those numbers to us." Johnson also asked him about reports that MMPI's profitability was suffering. Kennedy's pink face turned red, deflecting the question with generalities. Ward 8 Councilwoman Sabra Pierce Scott asked about rumors that MMPI could back out as late as August. Kennedy said, "If there was an indication that nobody wanted to come to Cleveland, I don't know why we'd want to continue." In courtroom dramas, lawyers call answers like that "unresponsive." Kennedy was surprisingly stymied by questions from downtown Councilman Joe Cimperman, who in no way could be called an opponent of the project. When he asked Kennedy whether MMPI had a nonprofit wing, or whether the project had to be a for-profit venture, Kennedy claimed he didn't know. When Cimperman asked whether the project would pay property taxes, Kennedy said, "If there were property taxes, what we can afford to build will change." Then Cimperman let it all come out: "Is there any other market where public financing is where it is here?" Kennedy responded irrelevantly and evasively: "There's no trade-show operation in the United States without public subsidy." Cimperman did get a promise from Kennedy that the county or city wouldn't be responsible for any project cost overruns, but Kennedy made it clear he wasn't ready to negotiate in public. And when Ward 16 Councilman Kevin Kelley asked Kennedy, point-blank, to confirm reports in The Plain Dealer that MMPI would own the facility, Kennedy only acknowledged that the company would be "the beneficiary." As Sweeney tried to wrap up, several council members outside Sweeney's majority and known for more rigorous due diligence couldn't contain their disgust. North Collinwood's Mike Polensek, who urged Sweeney a year ago to bring council into the negotiations, butted in. The taxpayers got the short end of the stick on the Gateway and Browns Stadium projects, said Polensek, and now council is "trying to get on the caboose after the train has left the station." Ward 17 Councilman Matt Zone, Sweeney's most outspoken foe, added, "I have a whole list of questions here, but I didn't have an opportunity to ask them because of the way this committee meeting unfolded." Later, Zone called Sweeney "intellectually challenged." Polensek says this could be an opportunity to create a true "civic center," similar to Chicago's Millenium Park, that's tied to the lakefront and becomes a destination of its own. It's in the city's best interest to hold a lease over MMPI's heads, he says, and become a planning partner. "This was Kennedy trotting out his show wagon again," he says. "And we've heard it. We know you're an outstanding company. How many times are we going to see this again? What about the issue of governance? Is this going to be lease or a sale? That's what people want to know now. This town is at a crossroads, so we can't afford to continue to make bad decisions. If we give them this property without any strings attached, that's a serious mistake. Do I want to see the existing convention center renovated? Of course. Do I find the Kennedy proposal intriguing? Finally after all these years, we have an opportunity to resurrect the convention center. So yes. But let's not get caught up in the euphoria. MMPI is getting all the profits and they're obviously putting very little of their own money into it." It all sounds so familiar.

Yes indeed I guess I have fallen behind on my adult entertainment news... :-) Somehow I missed that. I would be especially pissed if they had ended up selling, since they were the reason they established the classy strip district in the first place.

Here, Ill try this again. According to a previous article, it says it would only allow 2 clubs to operate, one being the current Diamond Mens Club, and the other the relocated Larry Flyn's. So unless one of those fell through or closed, why is this (3rd one) allowed?

Peabody, wasnt there supposed to be some kind of compromise of limiting it to 2 clubs, or am I off on this? Wasnt sure if anything has been happening with the hustler club, or if the other is still around.

Saw this on the list for this weeks Planning Commission and Design review, and sure to please Peabody :|. New construction of a no doubt quality establishment in the "district". (not sure if this is in addition to the expected 2 or if there has been a change in original plans) "DF 09-001, Kahoots Adult Night Club, New Construction, 1101 Center Street (Ward 13) Chris Vallette, DSA Architects" There's some lovely renderings and a site plan here. http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2009/022009/index.php#photo

Is that indeed the front facade or the back? Its hard to tell with all that vinyl.

Great find... Now if the PD was in any way a responsible and/or respectable publication we should expect some kind of correction/retraction right???

Here is how somebody explained it on Cleveland.com. This would make a bit more sense in that as GreenerPastures says would revert back to the taxpayers. (courtesy of NEOobserver) Btw, if this is indeed the case, the PD has again failed in its reporting. - Cuyahoga County sells (about) $400 million in bonds - Cuyahoga County then lends the $400 million to MMPI - Using the $400 million loan, MMPI builds and owns the convention center, absorbing any construction cost overruns - Cuyahoga County then leases the convention center under a rent-to-buy deal, paying MMPI about $40 million/year - MMPI uses the lease payments from Cuyahoga County to pay back its loan from the county at the rate of about $40 million/year - Cuyahoga County uses the MMPI loan payments to pay the bondholders who bought its bonds - At the end of 20 years, Cuyahoga County owns the convention center. "I don't know why the deal is structured in this way--you'll have to ask Fred Nance. I'm guessing that MMPI gets tax advantages and the county gets some sort of guarantee that it won't pay for construction cost overruns. I'm also guessing that there are legal considerations that forced the deal to be set up in a convoluted way."

Thats confusing as f@#$! I agree brtshrcegr , that sounds excessively generous. Im not sure if some of that is just the PD's interpretation of it (yes we must question them), especially since some are saying the county would still own the CC, or if it really is that lopsided. It would be good to know how they came to such an understanding (whatever it is).

Maybe some would see it as; since we would still be subsidizing its operating costs, that we are in a sense subsidizing MM's profit?

Thats correct.

8Shades, are you applying? And when are you back?

These are great pictures Mayday. I think a drive up the Kamehameha Highway is a must. Its amazing the way the terrain/topography changes. I remember walking around in that little village of Haleiwa and eating somewhere there. If you keep driving you will see banana and papaya groves and then things totally level off and its pinapple fields as far as the eye can see.

I would have thought I was reading a Feagler column.

What an idiot!

Thanks, I will definitely check it out then!

I was going to ask the same thing. I saw some glowing reviews recently, but wondered if any UO'ers have tried it out yet.. MTS...? I know you love Mr. Bruell's Table 45.... Also, I have'nt heard too much about La Strada on E.4th, just a couple comments here and there. Anybody have any experiences there.. I'm trying to figure out my dining schedule for my March visit. I will be on E. 4th one night to see my girl... Adele at HOB, so may try La Strada or Greenhouse if it is open.

Kindof a funny statement considering most of the process has involved "being held hostage" by a few with their own agenda, and Im not talking MMP.